SirTagle Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 The only thing that worries me is that fish can jump out easy, I am surprised they didnt make a removable glass top edge with a hole in the middle for the lamp. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 I haven't had a fish jump out yet, and rimless open top tanks certainly aren't a new concept. You just have to chose your fish accordingly, and make sure that the "jumpers" aren't being harassed. I've only had one fish jump out of any tanks I have ever had, and it was forced out by an aggressive tank mate. They do make a glass top that sits on this tank...but the heat is a killer. I never even took the glass top out of the packaging. Link to comment
rmcgookey Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 congrats on the tank. i have the same one. Any clue as to the cause of the Alk spike? I does with 2 part b ionic in my solana (7.5 ml per day) and everything is ok. i use tropic marin pro reef salt and grocery store distilled water. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 I also use Tropic Marin Pro, but apparently your tank consumes more alk and calcium than my tank does. As long as I do weekly water changes my alk and calcium stay within the normal range. I occasionally dose a little bit of the calcium, but that's it. I just wasn't testing..."dosing blind" is the term. Stupid of me! But, it's all good now. Weekly water changes keeps everything in check. Fish and corals are super happy. I might get more calcium consumption as my SPS corals get larger and I develope more coraline. I still test on a weekly basis. Water changes on Monday, and then I test on Friday. Link to comment
kc350twin Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I don't consider the light path to be narrow at all, I think it's just the photo. The light can be adjusted up and down about 8" or so...more than enough! People who don't run chillers or fans on these tanks have to move the light WAY up to keep the temp down. I have found that with an ACJR and a dual Jebo Fan system that I can maintain a tank temp without having the light very high. The higher the light the more light that is cast onto the walls around the tank, and I don't like to light up the whole living room. All in all the tank is terrific, the light is terrific and I couldn't be more happy. My only recommendation is to purchase some type of controller to help keep a steady temp. Yeah I thought it was probably just the picture making that light look narrow. How is the auto-top off set up working? I'm sorry so many little questions but it's the features of these tanks that are going to make my decision on my new tank. Also did you consider any other tanks before purchasing this one? Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 The auto top off is not perfect...but it's better than any other All-In-One tanks out there (because NONE of them have anything that does top offs). I have to fill my top off bottles in the morning and again in the evening. Twice a day, but if the bottles weren't there, I would have to pour water in via a jug or something, which would suck! I highly considered the Finnex Signature Series M-Tank. The reason I went with the Solana is a combination of the light (I love it!) and the fact that Finnex doesn't have enough literature on their tank, and the tank is nearly impossible to get (at least here in Phoenix). I wasn't comfortable buying either of the tanks sight-unseen. Thankfully, one of the LFS here in Phoenix was able to get a Solana and set it up in their showroom, once I saw it the deal was done. It is such an attractive tank! When I bought mine there was only one stand option, black. Now they offer 3 different colors I think...so the company is really working hard on this product, and it shows. I would buy this tank again, if I had it to do over. I also quickly considered the Red Sea, and other all-in-ones, but I hate the plastic lids! They look terrible. The Solana was by far the best looking piece of furniture (which is what this tank is in our living room), so I went with what would look the most attractive. Link to comment
kc350twin Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hey Dirt, How about an update. I have a couple of Q's if you don't mind. So many choices in Tanks these days. Hope all is well KC3 Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Not much to report. Had a little trouble with my Koralia powerhead, but it seems to be fine now. Other than that the tank is doing well, the corals are growing nicely and the fish are all happy. Shot with the questions. Link to comment
friedrice2841 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Alright, I have an update finally! I got my new Jebo fan. There are several ways I can set it up it looks like. Right now I have it aimed across the surface of the tank, it has already dropped the temp over 1 degree in about 10 minutes. However, I don't like the way it looks standing up...it looks much better pointed down into the media chamber. I will play around with it and see if I can get good temp control with it pointing down into the back of the tank. Here are photos of how it looks in both positions. Option 1 - air blowing across the surface of the tank. Option 2 - air either blowing down into the back, or sucking air out of the back...I haven't really tried this one yet. but it sure looks better! Where did you get your fan, and how much did it cost? I just picked up the same tank last Sat. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Search Ebay for jebo Fan. They are pretty cheap. They make a one fan, or two fan model. I obviously went with the dual fan setup. I think it was like $25 shipped. Congrats on the new tank! You're going to LOVE it! Link to comment
friedrice2841 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Search Ebay for jebo Fan. They are pretty cheap. They make a one fan, or two fan model. I obviously went with the dual fan setup. I think it was like $25 shipped. Congrats on the new tank! You're going to LOVE it! Thanks Dirt!, I installed a small heater on the back in the same compartment as the water return reservior. I guess that might not be necessary. I went with the sunpod instead of the "disco ball" (just like the footprint better). Now I am just sitting back and letting my tank cycle. I added 20# of live sand and about 30# of base/live rock (mostly live rock). I also used stabilize (recommended by a LFS). They said it would cycle the tank faster. Is the Koralia really necessary? I plan on doing soft corals and a few small fish. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Don't get to into the "quick cycle" products. They are mostly worthless, and patience is part of this hobby. Might as well practice it now! There is actually a heater chamber. It's right between the skimmer and middle chamber. A heater will fit right down in a tiny square area. Anyplace is fine though. Keep us posted on how it's going. Link to comment
friedrice2841 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Don't get to into the "quick cycle" products. They are mostly worthless, and patience is part of this hobby. Might as well practice it now! There is actually a heater chamber. It's right between the skimmer and middle chamber. A heater will fit right down in a tiny square area. Anyplace is fine though. Keep us posted on how it's going. Yea, I am trying to be patient! I will not anything until the tank is cycled and the water is perfect. Is the Koralia really necessary? I plan on doing soft corals and a few small fish. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 Is the Koralia really necessary? I plan on doing soft corals and a few small fish. You will defintely need some type of power head. The stock return pump is great for getting the water through the system, but not enough current to keep the livestock healthy. I have the Koralia #1, but I wish I had just bought the Koralia Nano...so go with that instead. It's nearly as powerful and much smaller. A better bang for your buck. I am going to add the Nano in conjunction with the #1 because I need a little more flow to combat some dead areas in the corners. Link to comment
Left Coast DJ Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I use a single Tunze 6025 on mine and get good flow. Azoo Fans from DrsF&S are good also. Link to comment
friedrice2841 Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 You will defintely need some type of power head. The stock return pump is great for getting the water through the system, but not enough current to keep the livestock healthy. I have the Koralia #1, but I wish I had just bought the Koralia Nano...so go with that instead. It's nearly as powerful and much smaller. A better bang for your buck. I am going to add the Nano in conjunction with the #1 because I need a little more flow to combat some dead areas in the corners. Just purchased the Koralia Nano from Drs Smith and Foster, should have it in a couple of days. Link to comment
dailydriven911 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 the tank runs warm because the return pump also runs pretty warm. plus you have the skimmer pump and not as much surface area as rectangular tanks do. if i let my tank run without a chiller and the outer orbits it would be way past 90 degrees I bought a 150w sunpod for mine and the temp stays between 80-81 degrees. Of course I live in WA state and it's 35 degrees out... Summer may be a different story... Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 I actually have an update today! My buddy and I just finished doing a slight modification that I have been thinking about since day one. I raised the water level another 1/2 inch or so. This is what I did.... I wandered out into the garage and looked around. There sitting on the shelf was a packaging tape gun, with a this big clear plastic deal sticking off it that is used to hold the tape in place when you about to start taping a package. I figured I would be able to cut this to fit down into the over flow chamber and then I could super glue it into place and block off the bottom bit of over flow teeth. Well...the packaging God's where thinking of me when they built this tape gun, because that piece of plastic was the PERFECT size, it wedged down in the chamber without being trimmed at all. Then all I did was slide it up and down a few times to achieve the proper water depth without overflowing the tank. Here are the photos. Anything could be used to do this to another Solana, I was thinking about a black credit card, a piece of acrylic, epoxy, frag puddy, Handy Foam...anything to seal up a little bit of those teeth but still allow the sponge to fit in the chamber. Here are the photos...sorry none of the plastic piece, it fit so well right off the bat that I didn't want to take it out. If someone needs to see it I will take it out and photo it. The tank looks better with the higher water level. I left the old water line on the glass so you can see the difference in the photo. The old water line is the obvious white line across the glass. I also took a photo of the teeth, the new water line is right at the top of the teeth...any higher and I think the overflow wouldn't be able to keep up. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 I just learned one thing about raising the water level in the Solana. Don't shove your arm in really fast...it will splash over the top. Oops. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Not really an update, but my Pearly Jawfish decided his big natural rock cave wasn't sufficient. So he set out today building a new burrow...under a small piece of rubble (maybe it's just going to be a weekend place). Anyways, I tried to get a few action shots of him spitting sand...but with the black sand bed it's tough. Here is what I got. Link to comment
Chebon Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 LMAO Reminds me of throwing up Sunday after taking some activated charcoal! Link to comment
Scroople Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 My LFS has 2 of these tanks in, one is there display that they are housing some orange seahorses in, this was the tank that got me into saltwater, the only thing that kept me from buying that setup over my Biocube was that light, I hate it. Other than that I love the tank and stand. Your tank looks great! Black sand has a nice fit with the whole modern vibe from the solana! Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 You didn't have to buy the light. It's 3 pieces, tank, stand and light...all sold separately. I can't stand the plastic cheapo lid look of the biocubes....I needed something classier. I love this light...but you're right, not for everyone. Link to comment
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